Windows IT Pro Storage UPDATE--Are Tape's Days Numbered?

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Converting a Microsoft Access Application to Oracle HTML DB
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1. Commentary
- Tape Losing Ground to Disk as a Backup Medium

2. From the Community
- NTBackup Might Hang During a Restore from Tape in Windows 2000
- Windows IT Pro Innovators Contest Deadline Extended to September 1!

3. New and Improved
- NEC Offers New Disk Arrays for SMBs
- Winchester Systems Unveils High-Capacity 24-Drive SATA Array
- Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!

4. Windows IT Pro Resources

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==== 1. Commentary: Tape Losing Ground to Disk as a Backup Medium ====
by Elliot King, [email protected] A

s major tape manufacturers turned in a lackluster--though far from dismal--performance last quarter (product revenues for StorageTek, which Sun Microsystems is acquiring, climbed around 6 percent while revenues at Quantum rose a scant 1 percent), a recent research report from the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG, http://www.enterprisestrategygroup.com ) questions the long-term future of tape technology in companies' storage infrastructure. The ESG research shows that storage professionals are replacing their tape-based secondary storage systems with disk-based alternatives and will continue to do so, perhaps at an accelerating rate, over the next several years.

ESG surveyed 163 IT managers at public and private companies across North America. The respondents come from some of the largest companies on the continent. Twenty-nine percent work at companies with revenues in excess of $5 billion annually. Forty-six percent are at companies with more than 10,000 employees. And 42 percent have 100TB of data or more stored. These companies represent the major traditional market for enterprise-class tape drives.

The study found that 18 percent of the IT managers had already permanently replaced some or all of their enterprise-class tape libraries with large-scale, nearline disk arrays. And a whopping 58 percent say they'd consider making a similar move in the future. Only 24 percent say they wouldn't consider swapping tape systems for disk alternatives.

The news gets worse for tape manufacturers. Companies that have begun replacing tape with disk are moving significant amounts of data to disk. Sixty percent of the first wave of companies to go to disk say they've already moved to disk more than 20 percent of the information stored on tape. And 60 percent of all respondents estimate they'll transfer to disk 40 percent of the data stored on tape over the next 3 years.

According to the study, the move from tape to disk could be pronounced over the next 24 months. Thirty-five percent of the respondents say they'd consider moving some of their enterprise-class tape libraries to disk within the next 12 months, and another 40 percent said they'd consider making the change within the next 24 months.

Tape storage, of course, is one of the most memorable technologies in computing. It's been strikingly depicted in movies from the 1960s--the ones with white-jacketed scientists wearing black-rimmed glasses scurrying around computer rooms filled with cabinet-sized open-reel tape drives. Watching those movies, many viewers probably thought the drives were the computers. So with a nearly half-century legacy, why would the use of tape wind down now?

Interestingly, the answer isn't that companies are unhappy with tape technology per se. Fully 86 percent of those surveyed said that they're either satisfied or very satisfied with their existing tape libraries. Only 4 percent said that they're dissatisfied.

The problem is that tape technology simply no longer meets these companies' need for primary backup. Around half the respondents say that limitations in tape technology hurt their ability to back up data and recover from failures as quickly as they'd like. In fact, the two primary business drivers for replacing tape with disk are the need to improve backup-and-recovery processes (77 percent) and the need to improve business continuity and disaster recovery processes (60 percent). Other significant business drivers leading to the replacement of tape are IT pros' desire to reduce operational expenses associated with tape libraries (47 percent) and the desire to reduce capital expenses associated with tape libraries (30 percent).

Ironically, while cost is driving IT pros away from tape, it's also an impediment to moving to disk. Indeed, cost is one of major misgivings companies have about adopting disk solutions. The other significant doubt is IT pros' concerns about the ability of disk solutions to meet long-term, off-site data-archiving requirements. In short, disk drives aren't portable; tape cartridges are.

So although tape is apparently losing its status as the primary backup solution, IT pros still prefer using it for archiving. All the companies that ESG surveyed that have started implementing disk for backup still use tape libraries to some degree. Most respondents anticipate continuing to use tape for long-term, off-site and secondary backup applications.

But the use of tape for archiving may come under pressure as well. As news reports of lost data tapes abound and WAN bandwidth improves, even very large companies may begin to opt for disk-only archiving solutions.

==== 2. From the Community ====

NTBackup Might Hang During a Restore from Tape in Windows 2000

When you try to restore the second backup set from a backup tape that contains two backup sets, NTBackup might stop responding. You could also experience any of these symptoms: You receive an access violation error message, event ID 4097 is logged in the event log, or a dump file is created. To learn more about the problem and how to solve it, go to http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=328936.

Windows IT Pro Innovators Contest Deadline Extended to September 1!

There's still time to submit an entry in the Windows IT Pro Innovators Contest! If you're a Windows IT pro who has used your technical know-how to devise a creative, innovative solution to a business problem, you could qualify to win a Windows IT Pro Innovators Award. Grand Prizes include one conference pass, airfare, and hotel for Exchange and Windows Connections in San Diego in late October 2005, one VIP subscription to Windows IT Pro, and more! Click here to enter!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/AWARDS/innovators_2005.cfm

==== 3. New and Improved ====
by Anne Grubb, [email protected]

NEC Offers New Disk Arrays for SMBs

NEC Solutions (America) introduced two new disk arrays, an updated version of NEC's Storage Manager software, and preconfigured bundles that deliver high-end capabilities to small-to-midsized businesses (SMBs). The two new arrays--the S2400 and S1400--provide up to 27.6TB and 13.8TB of storage capacity, respectively, and are designed to be integrated in a DAS and SAN environment. The enhanced Storage Manager software will provide real-time monitoring and statistical performance information across all storage devices. NEC will offer the disk arrays as both build-to-order and as nine preconfigured solutions. The S1400 and S2400 bundled solutions will begin shipping in September and will be available through Team 1 Systems and Avnet Partner Solutions, Americas. For more information, visit http://www.team1systems.com, http://www.aps.avnet.com, or http://www.necsam.com.

Winchester Systems Unveils High-Capacity 24-Drive SATA Array

Winchester Systems introduced a new Serial ATA (SATA)-based RAID array that supports 24 disks and up to 9.6TB of storage capacity in a single enclosure. The new array, the FlashDisk SA-4500T, is part of Winchester Systems' Turbo Series of RAID systems and supports a single 64-bit RAID controller with dual Ultra320 SCSI host connectivity. The product also includes high-reliability features such as N+1 power, redundant cooling, and UPS support. The FlashConsole appliance, which is included with the FlashDisk SA-4500T and every FlashDisk data-storage solution, allows complete centralized management by using any browser-based workstation on a LAN. The product will be available within 3 weeks; list pricing starts at less than $21,290 MSRP. For more information, contact Winchester Systems on the Web:
http://www.winsys.com

Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!

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==== 4. Windows IT Pro Resources ====

Check out these links to a wealth of Windows IT Pro resources: white papers, eBooks, Web seminars, conferences, and other events.

==== Resources and Events ====
(brought to you by Windows IT Pro)

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In this free eBook, you'll discover all you need to know about fax technology! You'll learn how to improve business processes by minimizing manual faxing and integrating faxing into your business workflow for improved ROI. The eBook will also look at the how-to of the desktop fax client, fax automation, faxing hardware and software technologies, and the future of faxing. Let this important guide help you stay on top of fax server technology within your business environment.
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Do you rest confidently knowing your Exchange and BlackBerry backup/restore solution meets your high-availability requirements? If not, you won't want to miss this free Web seminar. Join industry guru Paul Robichaux and learn all about choosing the appropriate technology, balancing the cost and the skill set, assessing the knowledge level required, the complexity added to your existing environment, and how much availability each technology gives you. Attend and you could win a $50 gift certificate to Best Buy!
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Reduce Downtime With Continuous Data Protection

Continuous or real-time backup systems help avoid the danger of losing data if your system fails after the point of backup by providing real-time protection. In this free Web seminar, learn how to integrate them with your existing backup infrastructure, how to apply continuous protection technologies to your Windows-based servers, and more. Sign up today and learn how you can quickly roll back data not just to the last snapshot or backup, but to any point in time!
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Compliance vs. Recovery: Can You Have Your Cake and Eat It Too?

In this free Web seminar, discover the issues involved with integrating your compliance system with backup and recovery, including backup schedules, the pros and cons of outsourcing your backup media storage and management, the DR implications of having to back up all that compliance data, and the possibility of using alternative backup methods to provide backup and compliance in a single system. You'll learn what to watch out for when combining the two functions and how to assess whether your backup/restore mechanisms are equal to the challenge.
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